Focus on Greenmarkets

In the local Stop & Shop, Pathmark, King Kullen, or even Whole Foods, we walk through the produce section seeking perfection. Apples, waxed and buffed to reflect the light of the fluorescent bulbs 30 feet above; cucumbers, hermetically sealed in their polyvinyl films; tomatoes as red and round as a clown's nose. This obsession with appearance creates an ideal that drives us to mini panic attacks while speeding down the aisle. Well, at least this is how I feel in such circumstances.

But ah, the farmers' market. Dirt clings onto knobby white, red, and blue potatoes; bugs hide in bunches of kale and collards; heirloom tomates are wired with cracks and are close to splitting open. It is here where I dismiss the ideals of The Perfect Produce and become emotional while admiring nature's imperfections.

I recently visited the Borough Hall Greenmarket in Brooklyn. I tried a half dozen samples of heirloom tomato varietals that tasted so good, I could eat them whole, like a peach. I bought a few of my favorites--green striped, Hawaiian pineapple, and some red one that I forgot the name of--and made a wonderfully simple salad which accompanied a turkey bacon and cheese-filled turkey burger. Big, rustic slices of farm fresh tomatoes are gently drizzled with white balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, dusted with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and showered with fresh basil confetti.

The tomato samples were the appetizers. I went to a stand that boasted homemade goods, including jelly donuts and a pocket of dough bursting with a spinach, onion, and mozzarella cheese filling. I had them both. And I'm now regretting the silly mistake of getting just one jelly donut.

Greenmarkets are not only about produce, but many include stands filled with fresh cut flowers, pots of garden herbs, local seafood, stinky cheeses, creamed honey, wines, and the list goes on...And not only is the food beautifully imperfect, it's local. What does this mean to you? The less time food spends crashing and rolling around in the back of a truck being shipped 3,000 miles to your neighborhood Shop Rite, the more likely it is that your cabbage will retain its lovely nutrients. Plus, it saves on energy associated with long-distance shipping, which lends a hand in helping the environment and the economy.

If you live in New York City, or are just visiting your crazy nutritionist of a daughter (Hi Mom!), check out this map from the Council on the Environment of New York City for a list of greenmarket locations: http://www.cenyc.org/files/gmkt/map.pdf

Happy Eating!

What's This All About, Anyway?

Well, I like talking, I like eating, I like writing, and I'm not as technologically savvy as other early twenty-somethings growing up in a megabyte universe.

So is born "Lettuce Talk Food." This is a place to appreciate and dissect foods, figuratively and literally. Here I will share recipes, educate on nutrition, review restaurants, and discover things, both new and old, about food. But this is not purely a narcissistic, self-indulgent webspace; audience participation is a highly encouraged and vital aspect of this blog's sustainability.

Enjoy reading, learning, discovering new things about the things we eat. Let's begin...